I Never Knew
by SaltwaterJanuary
Summary: I never knew Eggman was so important to the Sonic world. But you never know what you have, until you don't have it.


_I Never Knew_

It was over. It was all over.

He took a breath of victory, of the sweet Spring air, and he felt terrified.

This was everything he wanted, right?

Everything was perfect.

There would always be a few random villains springing up, but not much other action.

Nothing but land to explore. Perfect.

Tails was cheering beside him, smiling widely and fist-bumping the air. He turned to Sonic happily. "Sonic! We did it!"

He knew already. In feigned happiness, he nodded. "I know, buddy!"

 _But he's what brought us together…_ As it sunk in, he felt the world around him blur. All of the celebration was background noise. _He brought us all together, and now he's gone._

* * *

In the days that followed, Tails and the others continued to chatter about the victory, a few commenting on their future, a few stating that they wish they hadn't seen the man die. Sonic could agree to both.

* * *

There were several gatherings, and even though he was present each time, he was still elsewhere.

Some people tried to get his attention, especially the one sitting next to him.

"Sonic, you've been awful distant lately. Have you missed me a lot?" Amy patted his arm to grab his attention.

He stuttered and awoke himself, rubbing his head in his awkwardness. "Yeah…well, it's nice to see you?"

The fact that he said that made everyone wonder, except for her.

"Really?"

"'Course."

She embraced him with heart. "I knew you would- you always said we'd get married at Eggman's defeat!"

"I did?"

"Yes!"

Everyone stopped wondering when he rose and left.

* * *

A few approached Sonic as the days drew on, but he shrugged it off. He didn't know what to tell them anyway.

'Oh, I just miss beating Eggman is all.' Like they would understand that.

Instead he denied his sadness and let the dullness set in.

* * *

Breathing deeply into the mountain air, he continued to tell himself he was okay. He would climb up there whenever he needed convincing, for the most part it worked.

The world was still so beautiful. Nothing could change that in his mind.

And now there was less to threaten it. It felt like there was less to fill it, too.

He tried to convince himself that his thinking was terribly flawed, but that was the part he couldn't believe.

The world was beautiful, and it was his _hobby._ He wanted to be peaceful, right?

But Dr. Eggman had been his _purpose_.

It couldn't be true.

He kicked a few pebbles off of the mountain top in anger.

 _Why couldn't he let go?_

"I don't need him! He was the villain! Why would I want him back?" His voice rose over the high winds, hopefully not carrying to anyone's ears. He was beyond caring though.

Not anymore.

He heard footsteps behind him, and alarmed he spun around to face them.

It was Tails, looking very concerned. "Sonic…what are you doing?"

Sonic mustered a smile and shrugged. "Just a bit…angry a moment ago."

"Oh," Tails scuffed his shoes in the gravel. "So…I see."

"Yeah."

"What's been bothering you? Everyone knows you aren't acting yourself."

"Oh. Oh, nothing."

Tails didn't believe it for a second.

Sonic sighed.

"Sonic, I've been with you all this time, I know when you're lying."

"Do you?"

"Yes."

He took a breath of the air he thought he needed. He needed something more than air keeping him alive.

"I'm not myself, you're right." He turned around to face the forests below, his shoulders shaking in what Tails thought was a sob.

"S-Sonic, what's wrong?" He stepped forward until he could glance at the hedgehog's face, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Sonic?"

It was then that Tails realized it wasn't a sob.

Sonic was laughing. He was laughing hard, hysterically even.

"Sonic, what's wrong? Why are you-"

"I miss Eggman. "

"What?"

The shock on Tails' face made him laugh harder.

The fox was afraid he'd gone totally insane from too much high air.

"You heard me. I miss _him."_

He was calming himself, steadily. The words finally spoken were freeing.

"But…why?"

Sonic gestured to everything below. "This was all just a playground, and now my games are gone. Eggman was the reason I got to see so much of it. He was the reason for so many things."

He wasn't exactly sure if he truly understood- or if he wanted to.

"Oh, okay." Not sure how to take it. "Will you be alright?"

"I don't know."

From that moment, he didn't ever know.

 **Just something random I thought of. Not likely. But when you think about…Sonic wouldn't be a video game (or anything else really) without being there.**

… **.I don't know what to make of it.**


End file.
